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BMW delivers 100,000 electrified vehicles in 2017

By Digital News Asia December 19, 2017

THE BMW Group has delivered more than 100,000 electrified vehicles to customers worldwide in 2017, as promised at the beginning of the year, underlining the company’s leadership in electro-mobility.

To mark this milestone on the road to the mobility of the future, the BMW Group headquarters, known as BMW Four-Cylinder, was transformed into a battery in an eye-catching light installation. The BMW Group selected this glowing symbol to represent the technological change taking place in mobility.

“We deliver on our promises,” said Harald Krüger, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “Selling 100,000 electrified cars in one year is an important milestone, but this is just the beginning for us.”

Since the introduction of the BMW i3 2013, the company has delivered more than 200,000 electrified cars to its customers and by 2025 will offer 25 electrified models to customers.

“BMW’s early focus on electro-mobility has made this success possible – and electro-mobility will continue to be my measure for our future success,” said Krüger.

In Malaysia, the automaker has already established the BMW brand as the most successful premium hybrid brand in the country, delivering more than 6200 BMW iPerformance Hybrid Vehicles with eDrive technology in the country. The total deliveries signify that more than 50% of BMW Malaysia’s total volume for the country comprises hybrid vehicles with eDrive technology, the highest product split share not only in the country but in ASEAN and the world for the BMW Group.

“We are proud to announce that Malaysia is the world’s fifth largest market for the BMW iPerformance models after the US, UK and Europe and also the third largest market for the BMW 330 e model after the US and UK,” said BMW Group Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Han Sang Yun.

In Malaysia, the BMW X5 is the second largest market after the US while the BMW 7 series is the third largest market after Japan and the US.

“Malaysia is leading the way with many progressive countries with innovation in Future Mobility and Electro Mobility and our BMW iPerformance strategy here has been key in driving this success. While we at the BMW Group celebrate this milestone the world over, it is really a special feeling knowing that we in Malaysia played an important role in this success. We can only look forward to creating more successful milestones in 2018,” added Han.

Flexible electrification across all model series

Electro-mobility is an essential element of BMW’s NUMBER ONE > NEXT corporate strategy, which continues to expand the BMW Group’s position as the leading provider of individual premium mobility and mobility services.

By 2025, the company will offer 25 fully electric and plug-in hybrid models worldwide. The fifth generation of electric drive train and battery technology, available from 2021, uses scalable, modular electrification kits that will allow all model series to be fitted with every type of drive train.

The company has already secured the naming rights for BMW i1 to i9, as well as from BMW iX1 to iX9 for its BMW i electric brand, which was founded in 2011. Next year will see the launch of the BMW i8 Roadster, followed in 2019 by a fully electric MINI.

In 2020, the electric version of the BMW X3 will be launched, followed by the brand’s new technology flagship the BMW iNext in 2021, which will combine electro-mobility with autonomous driving and new interior connectivity options for the first time in a series-production model.

Leading provider of electro-mobility

The BMW Group adopted a holistic approach to electro-mobility early when it launched project i, the trailblazer for BMW i back in 2007. By the following year, electric test fleets took to the roads worldwide in the largest wide-scale EV field trial the automotive industry had ever seen. Series production of the fully-electric BMW i3, one of the most-awarded vehicle concepts in the world, began in 2013. Since then, sales have increased every year, for the past four consecutive years.

The early focus on electro-mobility means the company has already achieved a leading position in the electrified vehicles market. According to the independent POLK/IHS Report (published on Dec 7 2017), the BMW Group has a clear lead over its competitors when it comes to registrations of new fully-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Europe, with a market share of 21%.

The BMW Group’s share of the electrified vehicle segment is more than three times its share of the market for traditional models. While electrified vehicles now account for 2% of new vehicle registrations across all manufacturers in Europe, the BMW Group figure is already 6%, meaning the BMW Group holds a disproportionately large share of the growing market for electro-mobility in Europe.

The company’s position is similarly strong when it comes to the worldwide market – the company has a 10% share of the global electrified vehicle market.

In 2017, every tenth model of the highly successful BMW 3 Series Sedan delivered to customers worldwide was electrified. In the case of the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, 13% of the models sold in 2017 were plug-in hybrids.

Since its launch in June 2017, the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 (combined fuel consumption of 2.3-2.1 l/100km; CO2 emissions of 52-49 g/km) already accounts for one in ten of MINI Countryman sales around the world. Sales of the all-electric BMW i3 also increased by around a quarter. (All figures YTD November 2017.)